Punjab's farm fires drop by half this year

India Nov 21, 2025

Big win for cleaner air: Punjab has cut its farm fire cases by 50% this season—just 5,046 reported so far this season, compared to over 10,900 last year.
The drop comes during the peak paddy harvesting months when burning stubble usually spikes.

What changed?

Sangrur still saw the most fires (695), but that's way down from last year's 1,725. Other hotspots like Tarn Taran and Ferozepur also improved.
Some places barely had any fires—Rupnagar had zero!
Officials credit a new strategy that treats leftover crop stubble as a useful resource instead of waste.
As PPCB chairperson Reena Gupta put it, "The strategy has been successful in bringing down the number of farm fires significantly."